Welcome to Gulfport, Florida's Bohemia-on-Sea

Forget what you think you know about Florida – this coastal town offers old-fashioned charm and artsy eccentricity a world away from the state's theme parks and high rises

The Casino - not a gambling den but a dance hall (Susan Veness)

Art Walk was in full swing in Gulfport, and Beach Boulevard was packed with a mixture of curious tourists, all manner of vendors, kids strumming guitars and a healthy percentage of locals, mostly identifiable by the presence of a dog on the end of a lead.

The artists themselves – all arranged in tent-like kiosks along the street – varied from the painfully prosaic to award-winning exhibitors such as glass-blower Jackie Ballard, from homemade to gallery standard, and from cheap little souvenirs to expansive canvases.

The definition of “artist” also stretched to prose, with local novelist Sam Black having a stall. “This is just a quaint, old-fashioned community,” he told me. “Nothing much has changed here in 50 years. We kind of like it that way.”

Gulfport (Jinjian Liang/Flickr)

Gulfport is part-sleepy seaside town, part-new-age arts commune, with overtones of pre-tourism Key West. The effect is a beguiling Bohemia-on-Sea, at odds with the glamorous resorts that sprawl along much of Florida’s coast.

The basic structure of the downtown district – which stretches all of 200 yards – is notable for its lack of modern buildings. Nothing is less than 50 years old and the shops, restaurants and galleries have clearly been reclaimed, repurposed or rearranged multiple times. The ultimate recycling system.

The town's colourful boutiques (Susan Veness)

Shore Boulevard’s scattering of bars has the well-worn air of near-neglect that only the best drinking establishments can cultivate. But turning on to Beach Boulevard, the vibe changes. Instead of unpretentious and timeworn, it is fashionable and cutting-edge, with a high-end foodie element that seems transplanted from a big-city suburb.

I sampled the romantic Tuscan style of Pia’s Trattoria, where the antipasto platter was as fresh as anything in Pisa or Florence, while Isabelle’s at the elegant 1905-vintage Historic Peninsula Inn served up classic Southern cookin’, including succulent fried green tomatoes and country fried steak. On another evening, the eclectic style of Mangia Gourmet took my fancy, with its tempting vegan and gluten-free options, notably the aubergine lasagne, washed down with home-made sangria.

Dining at Pia's (Pia's Trattoria/Facebook)

There are so many restaurants and cafés to try on this one short stretch, mixed in with the art galleries, boutiques and craft stores, but not a single big-name brand in sight. Starbucks and co are notable for their absence.

“This is very much a unique neighbourhood,” the landlady of the Sea Breeze Manor Inn, Lori Russo, told me. “It dates back to the 1980s, when there was a lesbian art community that moved in, and they helped re-establish the town. They were so successful they priced themselves out of business when rents went up, but some managed to stay and it all added to the diversity. It’s an amazingly welcoming community.”

The Sea Breeze Manor Inn is a picture-postcard B&B on Shore Boulevard, a few blocks from the bustling Art Walk, which takes place on two Saturdays a month. A refugee from the politics of Washington, DC in 2002, Lori became the president of the Chamber of Commerce and set about transforming Gulfport from an artistic but rather down-at-heel area to an eclectic resort that appeals to the locals as much as visitors. “We’re the big surprise in this little corner of Florida,” she said.

The Casino at dusk (Susan Veness)

The town certainly has a few pleasant surprises, chief among them the Casino – not an establishment for gaming and gambling, as per the modern definition, but rather the original 18th-century usage of the word as “a public room for music or dancing”. And Gulfport certainly does dance, with ballroom and tango every Tuesday, swing on Wednesdays, Latin night each Thursday, and full ballroom dances on Sunday evenings. Outside the hall, an eccentric monument is dedicated to Morris the Casino Cat (1970-1985).

When I swung by the Casino’s 80th-birthday celebration, the age range varied from 10 to 80, and while the majority were in their twilight years, it was clearly something the whole town supported. More oddball revelry can be found each September at the town’s annual GeckoFest, a colourful street party that wouldn’t be out of place in New Orleans.

RIP Morris (Susan Veness)

This is a small town that’s at once old-fashioned and stridently modern; chic and homely. Even the beach at Boca Ciega Bay exhibits the same kind of split personality, ranging from the unkempt eastern fringe, with its meagre sands, to the stylish western end, where volleyball courts attract an exuberant throng at the weekend.

With charm to spare, Gulfport encourages all who visit to slow down a little. I couldn’t go 10 yards without someone acknowledging me or asking if I was enjoying the day. It’s not just nice, it’s downright neighbourly. Most visitors spend only a day or an overnight visit here, but a couple of days will definitely allow you to scratch beneath the surface. And, if the mood really takes you, you might never leave.

Volleyball at the more stylish end of the bay (Susan Veness)

Travel essentials

Getting there

Tampa airport, 25 miles away, is served by British Airways from Gatwick.

A hire car is essential for getting around. Alamo has an outpost at the airport.

Staying there

Sea Breeze Manor Inn offers doubles from $166 (£132).

More information

visitgulfportflorida.com

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